


Introduction to Chance Encounters

by kbaycolt



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, First Meetings, Humor, Meet-Ugly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29825580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kbaycolt/pseuds/kbaycolt
Summary: The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the whole world was at Jeff Winger's feet. Absolutely nothing could ruin this magnificent day.And then someone crashed into him from above.
Relationships: Britta Perry & Jeff Winger, Britta Perry/Jeff Winger
Comments: 10
Kudos: 15





	Introduction to Chance Encounters

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: i fell out of a tree on top of you and broke your arm im so so so sorry

Jeff Winger was having a truly splendid day.

For once, there seemed to be nothing at fault with life. He'd just won a case for a very rich client, which while having the unfortunate side effect of instantly putting him in the unenviable position of buying his coworkers a dozen rounds at L Street, also opened up the prospect of a marvelously self-indulgent shopping spree over the weekend. He had given himself a single second of half-hearted guilt about winning the case, as the prosecution had been representing the weepy housewife suing his client, a homewrecker, for emotional damages and ruining her happy marriage, before driving to his bank and withdrawing hundreds in cash.

He figured that was people deserved, for getting attached to their spouses. Marriage was like a poorly constructed tower of uncooked pasta, lies, and lust built by tiny fifth graders; bound to collapse eventually, and really only built for the purpose of earning the highest grade.

He got up early Saturday morning to go for a run, still buoyed by the high of success and the knowledge that he was absolutely killing it at being an adult so far.

His usual route would take him around the block, sticking to sidewalks and paved areas that he knew well. One street corner was diagonal to a small, quaint little park nearby, where the city had sectioned off a certain amount of undeveloped land in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Agency. It was a beautiful spring morning, and as he lingered on the corner, sipping from a water bottle, he noticed a good amount of single mothers with kids at the park, enjoying the nice weather. He didn't usually go for that demographic of women, seeing as the idea of ever getting involved with their kids horrified him to no end, but... he supposed letting some attractive ladies catch a glimpse of his chiseled jawline and toned muscles while he jogged would be a courteous gift for their eyes.

He was self-aware enough to admit that he was pretty much a perfect specimen of health and attractiveness.

Making his decision, he crossed the street and took his route through the park. He waved to a few lovely brunettes with a smile, and got a few waves and brief friendly greetings in return. The grass was soft beneath his feet, the breeze was light and cool, and the budding trees peppering the area offered respites of shade whenever he passed under them.

A particularly gorgeous blonde gave him an appreciative once-over as he went by, which he responded to with an easy wink and charming grin.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, his bank account was loaded, and his career was taking off into the great blue yonder at tremendous speed. He was rich and handsome and the universe hung on his every word with rapt attention.

The whole world was at Jeff Winger's feet. Absolutely nothing could ruin this magnificent day.

And then someone crashed into him from above.

He hadn't even seen them coming. One minute he was ducking under a low-hanging branch, and the next he was crumpling under the weight of a person falling out of the tree, landing in the dirt hard on his shoulder with a sickening _snap_.

Sharp, hot pain exploded in his arm, whiting out his vision for a good several seconds as he laid there in the grass, wind knocked out of him and gasping for breath. It was unbearable; pain radiated throughout his entire shoulder and down his elbow, to his forearm, such a searing sensation that he could do nothing but hold still and endure the waves of agony that wracked the entire left side of his body. Then a heavy weight lifted from his chest, and he sucked in a lungful of air, willing himself not to start hyperventilating.

"Oh my God," he heard dimly, past the ringing in his ears. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry."

Finally managing to unclench his jaw, Jeff choked out, "What the _hell?"_

"Oh, shit. Shit shit shit. I'm so sorry."

Jeff couldn't hold back the pained whimper as he tried to push himself up, only to collapse back down at the spike of nausea that curled in his stomach. He forced himself to open his eyes.

His vision was engulfed by the face of a pretty girl. Certainly not the worst thing he'd ever opened his eyes to.

She was hovering over him nervously, blue eyes blown wide with shock, curls framing her pale face in a curtain of blonde. She was dressed, apparently, in a leather jacket and ripped jeans, with a backpack slung haphazardly over one arm.

Jeff gave her a woozy grin. "Hey, gorgeous," he said, struggling to focus on her face.

Her expression twisted. "What?"

"I think I have a concussion. Also," he said, "my arm is broken."

"I'm so sorry," she repeated, with increasing urgency. "I didn't mean to slip off the branch, I didn't even see you, I-"

"Hold on," Jeff said. He wasn't sure he was entirely following the conversation, what with his attention being snatched away every few moments by the throbbing pain in his shoulder. "You're the one who fell on me?"

She wrung her hands guiltily.

"Jesus fucking Christ."

"I'm sorry-"

"Oh, you're sorry?" he hissed. He tried to sit up again and failed. "You're _sorry?_ I have to work with this arm! What the hell? What special brand of insanity do you have to be smoking to think 'sorry' would even _begin_ to cover it?"

The girl rocked back on her heels, now glaring down at him. "Excuse me? You're the one who chose to jog under the only tree in the park with someone in it."

"How was _I_ supposed to know you were up there?"

"Maybe if you hadn't been too busy trying to look sexy for all the single moms by wearing a sports jacket and jeans in March," the girl snapped, "you would have noticed. I wasn't exactly hiding. And by the way, you just look like a douche."

Jeff shoved his right arm underneath himself and managed to arduously push his body into an upright position, his other arm screaming at him the whole way. He leveled an even harsher glare at the, unfortunately, beautiful girl. "You know, you're pretty argumentative for someone who just broke another person's arm. Maybe you should be less concerned with who's more at fault, and more concerned with how you're going to pay for the lawsuit."

She paled. "No, wait," she said quickly. "Don't sue me. I'm sorry. Here, I'll- I'll call you an ambulance, okay?" She started to rifle through her bag with frantic hands, curls tossing with the whip of her head.

"No, don't," he interrupted. He could afford an ambulance, technically, but he would prefer to not set his savings back a year if he could help it. "Do you have a car?"

"Yes...?"

"Alright. Just drive me yourself."

"Right. Right! Okay. Do you need help...?" She waved vaguely at him, tentative.

"No. I can do it." Slowly, wanting to die the whole way, Jeff staggered to his feet, clutching the tree for balance and gritting his teeth against the fresh onslaught of pain. The girl wavered nearby, trying to act like she wasn't concerned he'd fall over at any moment. When he finally got himself upright, he said, "Lead the way."

He followed her out of the park, clutching his injured shoulder the whole way, until they reached the street on the other side. The girl stopped next to the ugliest car he'd ever seen and pulled open the passenger seat door.

"Is that a Skylark," Jeff said flatly.

The girl grinned proudly. "1992, baby."

"That thing is a horrific affront to the eyes and the laws of nature. Do you feel no shame? Is that why you're a crazy person?"

Her smile turned into a scowl. "Well, what do you drive?"

"A 2005 Lexus," Jeff said, watching smugly as her face fell. "What can I say? It pays to be an amazing defense attorney."

"You're a lawyer? Ugh."

He reluctantly climbed into the Skylark, tucking his arm as close as he could to his body to prevent from further aggravating it. The girl got in the driver's seat, jammed the key into the ignition, and the car started with a juddering, unhealthy-sounding growl. Jeff winced. She seemed determined to not appear embarrassed about her humiliating taste in cars.

"Yes, I'm a lawyer," he said, continuing the conversation. "And a damn good one too. I once convinced a jury that an illegal strip club was actually just a for-profit performing arts troupe, and I did it without even having read the entire case file."

"Oh, so you're an asshole, is what you're saying."

"No, I'm saying I'm awesome, and that suing you for this," he said, gesturing at his arm, "would not be difficult in the slightest."

Her hands tightened around the wheel. Jeff settled into his seat, satisfied.

The drive to the hospital was tense and quiet. He didn't think he would actually sue her; by all rights, he probably should, in compensation for the weeks of agony that were sure to follow this, and she would deserve it. But she was cute, and he would feel a little weird about suing a beautiful woman unnecessarily.

"What's your name?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

She glanced at him, then looked back out at the road. "Britta Perry."

Jeff raised an eyebrow. "Like the water filter?"

"Ha ha, so original, I definitely haven't heard that one before." She scowled harder. "What's yours?"

"Jeff. Jeff Winger."

"Well, Jeff Winger," she said, "I hope you have insurance, because I can't afford my own medical bills, much less anyone else's."

"Can't afford it? How come?"

Britta sighed. "I got fired a month ago and my landlord is evicting me. That's why I was in that tree. I was trying to take a nap in preparation for living on the streets, since all the cops in this town know my name, so park benches are out of the question. And I doubt I'll have the car for much longer." She clenched her jaw. "Please don't sue me. I literally have nothing to give you besides the waterlogged twenty dollar bill in my pocket."

Jeff frowned a bit. "You're being evicted?"

"Yeah. My landlord slipped me the notice a few days ago."

They pulled up to the hospital parking lot. The pain in Jeff's arm had dulled a bit to a low, consistent pulsing ache, spreading down to his elbow and up to his neck. He held back a hiss when he stepped out of the car, jostling his shoulder.

"I can take it from here," he said.

"I can-" Britta bit her lip. "I'll just see you inside. It's the least I can do, I broke your arm."

Well. Jeff could never turn down the company of a woman. He let her follow a step behind as he walked into the hospital and checked in, explaining the situation to a nurse who ushered him into the ER.

Britta didn't watch them set the bone and looked queasy at the words "proximal humerus fracture", which Jeff found a bit unreasonable seeing as she wasn't the one currently in excruciating discomfort. If he cried a little while they were shoving his shoulder back into place, that was no one's business but his own.

The whole ordeal ended with Jeff in a sling and knocking back a few pain killers as quickly as possible, under orders from his doctor to lay off exercising and take work leave for at least a week, to ensure he didn't lengthen the healing process. He got back into Britta's car, gave her his address, and she drove him home. When they got there, for a few seconds they sat in silence, parked in front of his apartment.

"So," Britta said quietly. "I'm guessing you want compensation. I mean, I ruined your whole day, probably your month, and I can't even pay the full hospital bill. You have a job and a life that I completely derailed."

Jeff glanced over at her. She looked awfully like she was on the verge of tears, gripping the steering wheel with both hands.

He thought about it for a minute.

"You're right," he said. "I do want compensation." The anxiety on her face made him feel oddly guilty, despite, by all rights, being the sole wronged party here. With a sigh, he reached down and picked up a small scrap of receipt from the floor. "Do you have a pen?"

She retrieved one from her bag and passed it over.

"As compensation for, quote, 'ruining my whole day'..." Jeff pressed the receipt and the pen together, then held it out for her to take. She did so hesitantly, confused. "I'd like you to give me your number. Then, I want you to call me when your eviction hearing is coming up, so I can have time to prepare for court."

"I don't understand," Britta said, eyebrows drawn together. "You're going to... represent me?"

"I'd like to. Free of charge, even. Most eviction hearings get thrown out if you have a good lawyer to fight it for you. Follow my lead, stick to the script, and you'll win. That's the Winger guarantee." He gave her a broad, easy smile.

"Why are you doing something nice for me? I literally broke your arm by falling on you."

"Well, consider it a favor. And in a few months, once you've got a job and you're back on your feet, you can repay me with a date."

She stared at him for a long moment. He grinned back.

"You're seriously hitting on me right now."

"Is it working?"

Britta made a disbelieving noise. " _Men._ You're all disgusting. Taking advantage of my economic misfortune to score a chance at sleeping with me? That's low."

"I never claimed to be a saint," Jeff replied. "And you did break my arm."

She stared at him for a little longer, at a loss, before briskly uncapping the pen and scribbling out her phone number on the back of the receipt. She shoved the receipt at him. "Fine. But I'm picking the place and you're paying."

Jeff pocketed the receipt with a self-satisfied smile. He popped open the car door, slid out onto the street, and briefly leaned back down to peer at Britta. She was glaring at him still, but he'd been promised a hot date and she was keeping her apartment, so he figured they were all winners here and wouldn't begrudge her the bitterness.

"Don't look so smug," she muttered.

"Sorry, it's my default setting." Jeff smiled again, and this time it almost felt genuine. "Oh, and, Britta?"

She tilted her head to see him better.

"Next time you want to sleep in a tree in the middle of a public park, try tying a rope around your waist, so you don't fall on innocent passersby again. I've heard nylon is pretty sturdy."

"Oh, screw you."

"Screw me yourself."

"You're a pig," Britta said, as he shut the car door on her and started heading up the steps to his condo, grinning to himself. She rolled down her window and yelled, "Your charming lawyer wiles won't work on me!"

"Bye, Britta," he called over his shoulder.

Her car horn beeped twice in response, and then she was revving the engine of her awful Skylark and rumbling away, leaving Jeff with a cute girl's number in his pocket and a date to look forward to. And all he had to do was get his shoulder fractured! Who knew? Man, he really was the coolest.

Jeff unlocked his apartment, unable to stop smiling for some reason. There was an unfamiliarly warm, light feeling bubbling in his chest. That was weird. Maybe these pain killers were making him a little dopey. It certainly couldn't have been because of Britta, with her tousled curls and pink lips and leather jackets in March and loud, unapologetically bold personality. Definitely not.

He could use a drink.

**Author's Note:**

> this was genuinely so fun to write
> 
> leave a comment if you enjoyed !! <3


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